Sir Purr
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- Mar 16, 2019
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The Buccaneers have certainly spent their currency on things to protect Tom Brady (and Jameis Winston before him), with the aforementioned four-year, $42 million contract for center Ryan Jensen, and premium picks on right tackle Tristan Wirfs (13th overall in 2020), left tackle Donovan Smith (34th overall in 2015), and left guard Ali Marpet (61st overall in 2015).
On the other hand, the Panthers have exactly one starting offensive lineman under contract at the moment, which makes line coach Pat Meyer's work with the prospects at the Senior Bowl among the most important.
Beyond center Matt Paradis, the rest of the Panthers' starting linemen are pending free agents, beginning with right tackle Taylor Moton. While they could use the franchise tag to keep him off the market, he's a big-ticket item at a time when they need to buy in bulk. Left tackle Russell Okung and guards John Miller and Chris Reed and backups Michael Schofield and Tyler Larsen are also set to be unrestricted free agents, so change is coming.
Meyer said he loved the group he had last year from a personality and chemistry standpoint, but isn't blind to the reality.
"I would like to get them all back. Is that possible? No, I know that," Meyer said.
"I'd like to keep them all, but that's not the nature of the business, so it's like, hey, let's elevate some guys, get somebody in, draft somebody. It's part of the game, and it's cyclical."
The Panthers are coaching an interesting mix of linemen, who could help fill a number of issues for them.
But one of the most intriguing prospects on their American team roster hasn't even practiced this week.
Alabama center Landon Dickerson is still recovering from surgery, after a knee injury knocked him out of the SEC Championship Game. The 6-foot-6, 326-pound Dickerson — who grew up in suburban Hickory, NC and attended South Caldwell High — has the potential to play four positions according to scouts (everything but left tackle), and NFL teams love that kind of versatility.
On the other end of the physical and name-recognition spectrum is Grambling's David Moore, who hasn't snapped at all before this week, and lacks Dickerson's imposing build. Moore is 6-foot-1 1/2 and 350 pounds, built like a bulldozer, and able to move guys around like one.